Chapter 183
Shen Xili looked at the closed door and couldn’t help but smile, then raised his hand to knock again.
Shen Shuyu opened it a second time, and the first thing that caught his eye was a sweet potato in a bag.
Shen Xili said, “I didn’t eat it all by myself. Here, eat it. If you eat it, I won’t have to gain a hundred pounds.”
Shen Shuyu hadn’t expected that he would get to eat a roasted sweet potato too. He reached out and took it; the sweet potato was still burning hot, clearly having been carefully protected on the way back.
“Thanks,” Shen Shuyu said.
“What’s there to thank me for? Aren’t we… family?” Shen Xili patted his head. “I’m going back to my room. Call me if you need anything.”
Shen Shuyu nodded. “Okay.”
This time, he watched Shen Xili return to his room before going back inside himself. He sat down at his desk and broke the sweet potato open. The sweet, fragrant flesh was still steaming, looking incredibly delicious.
Shen Shuyu picked up a spoon and scooped out some of the core. He blew on it and took a bite. Just as he thought, it was very sweet.
In the afternoon.
Wen Jiafei packed up the textbooks he needed to take home for revision and walked out of the classroom alone with his bag.
Usually, he left the school gates with Shen Shuyu and they parted ways there. Having been alone for the past two days, he actually felt a bit unaccustomed to it.
However, things would be back to normal tomorrow.
When Wen Jiafei reached the school gate, most of the people had already left. He didn’t have much to do today—no part-time shift at the bar—so he could go straight home.
The weather was quite nice. The sunlight felt warm on his body. From the corner of his eye, he suddenly spotted a cat leaning against the perimeter wall. The cat had its head tilted back and eyes narrowed, comfortably sunbathing. As if possessed, Wen Jiafei took out his terminal and snapped a photo. It was only when he opened his chat window with Shen Shuyu that he snapped out of it.
Their conversation was still stuck on Shen Shuyu saying he was going to shower and rest.
Wen Jiafei took a deep breath, seemingly annoyed with himself for clicking on the chat. He exited the messaging app and put his terminal back in his pocket.
Now, he could go home in peace.
The walk back wasn’t very far, and Wen Jiafei even broke a light sweat. He first went to the bakery to see Wen Yue.
Wen Yue was becoming more and more proficient at her job in the bakery. Since the weather was good today, there were a lot of people out buying cakes, and business was booming.
She couldn’t spare a moment to talk to Wen Jiafei. After a few hurried words of instruction, she rushed back to the kitchen to help.
Seeing this, Wen Jiafei was about to leave, but his gaze caught a familiar figure sitting in a corner of the shop. It was the man who had been standing across the street recently.
A small cake and a glass of lemonade sat in front of the man. He was looking down, fiddling with his camera, and hadn’t noticed Wen Jiafei come in.
Wen Jiafei gave him a couple more looks, but then he reconsidered—they didn’t know each other. The man was likely just someone who came in for a drink and a snack.
He had probably overreacted lately because of the situation with Shen Xili. Wen Jiafei withdrew his gaze, pushed open the glass door, and left.
Upon arriving home, Wen Jiafei calculated the time and prepared dinner. Without the pressure of medical bills, the standard of living for the mother and son had risen significantly.
However, after finishing dinner today, Wen Yue didn’t return for a long time.
Wen Jiafei stroked Meimei in his arms. Had the shop really become that busy?
Usually, if things got truly hectic, Wen Yue would send him a message beforehand, but there was no news today.
Anxiety stirred in Wen Jiafei’s heart. After thinking it over, he put on his coat, grabbed his keys, and headed out. He thought he wouldn’t see Wen Yue until he reached the shop, but to his surprise, just as he reached the entrance of the residential complex and was about to swipe his access card, he looked up and saw Wen Yue being grabbed by a man who was trying to pull her into a car.
Wen Jiafei immediately swiped his card and sprinted out. As he got closer, he could hear Wen Yue’s angry curses. With a dark expression, he stepped forward and easily separated them, shielding Wen Yue behind him. The man, dressed in leather and a suit, was about to see who was meddling in his business when a heavy punch landed squarely on his face. Losing his balance, he fell directly to the ground.
Wen Jiafei wasn’t satisfied. He walked over, grabbed the man’s collar, pulled his upper body up, and delivered another vicious punch to his face, showing no mercy whatsoever.
The shaken Wen Yue finally snapped out of it and rushed forward to hold Wen Jiafei back. “That’s enough, Jiafei. Don’t let this turn into something major.”
Only then did Wen Jiafei let go. The man had no strength to resist; his back hit the concrete ground hard, causing him to cry out in pain.
Wen Jiafei pulled Wen Yue to the side. “Mom, are you okay?”
Wen Yue waved her hand. “I’m fine.”
She didn’t give the man on the ground a single glance. Grabbing Wen Jiafei’s hand, she said, “Son, let’s go home. Let’s leave first.”
Wen Jiafei nodded. Coincidentally, other people from the surroundings began to gather, but they looked like the man’s people because they went straight to him.
If Wen Jiafei were alone, he certainly wouldn’t have let it go like this, but Wen Yue was there.
In front of her, Wen Jiafei had always been an obedient and sensible child. She didn’t know about his underground boxing; she only knew he worked part-time at a bar, had excellent grades, and often received various scholarships from the school.
Wen Jiafei hummed in response, put his arm around her shoulder, and led her into the complex. The man behind them didn’t stop them.
Once they were home, Wen Jiafei asked, “Mom, who was that man?”
Wen Yue took off the scarf around her neck. She said, “I don’t know him. He probably drank too much and mistook me for someone else. I’m hungry. What delicious food did you make today? Let’s eat.”
Wen Jiafei kept his eyes on Wen Yue’s face. From his time at the bar and the boxing gym, he had long ago learned how to read people, and Wen Yue’s obvious avoidance of the subject was telling.
Wen Jiafei lowered his eyes, pretending not to have noticed. He hummed, “Okay. I’ll pick you up from work tomorrow.”
Wen Yue had already brought out the bowls and chopsticks from the kitchen. The heater was on in the house, so they didn’t have to worry about the food getting cold.
Wen Yue said, “No need. Aren’t your exams coming up? Just focus on your revision when you get back, and wait for Mom to come home and cook.”
Wen Jiafei pulled out a chair. “Your work is tiring too. I should be the one cooking.”
Wen Yue smiled warmly. “What a good son.”
Wen Jiafei smiled back. The mother and son naturally moved past the small incident from earlier.
After dinner, Wen Yue insisted on washing the dishes herself. Wen Jiafei sat on the sofa. Meimei stood on the floor and meowed at him twice. Wen Jiafei looked at her and opened his arms slightly, letting Meimei jump into his lap.
One hand stroked Meimei’s fur while the other moved quickly over his terminal.
[Wen Jiafei: Help me check someone. Surveillance footage is at the complex entrance. The sooner, the better. I’ll transfer the money once you find them.]
Once the arrangements were made, Wen Jiafei continued to stroke Meimei. He turned his head to look at Wen Yue, remembered something, and picked up his terminal again to edit and send another message.
[Wen Jiafei: There’s another man. I’ll send you his photo tomorrow. They might be together.]
The other party replied with an “OK.”
Wen Jiafei put the terminal aside. No matter who it was, he wouldn’t allow anyone to hurt Wen Yue again. He hadn’t had the ability to protect her when he was a child, but now he had enough strength to protect her, and… others.
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